Our Mandate
Established in 1983, First Rung is a registered charity and a company registered by guarantee.
First Rung’s charitable objectives are: 
to advance education for the public benefit, particularly, but not exclusively, by the provision of vocational training
for the relief of unemployment for the public benefit, but not exclusively, by the provision of training, retraining and periods of work experience, through the programmes of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), their successors or similar programmes funded by the government and public agencies including the European Union.
First Rung currently delivers an Entry to Employment Programme (E2E) funded through the LSC and a Job Centre Plus contract. We also offer accredited training for:
Adult Numeracy and Literacy
Using IT E3 & Level 1
Key Skills
Level 1 National Award Working with Children
NVQ Level 1 & Level 2 Retail and Administration
NVQ Level 2 Child Care
NVQ Level 1 & Level 2 Customer Service
Employability Skills and Personal Development
We are an accredited training centre for OCR, City and Guilds, NCFE and LCCI, and, in addition, hold Investors in People (IiP) and Matrix accreditation. We have also been awarded a Grade 2 by the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI).
We aim to support the LSC’s strategic priorities and key actions as we:
Ensure our learning provision continues to be linked to the needs of employers and build on our reputation of delivering good quality work experience and employment opportunities
Continue to develop and improve our E2E programme including expansion of work tasters to a wider range of occupations
Widen learner participation and improve our success rates
Support learners’ development to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Provide good quality information, advice and guidance to all participants
Ensure the skills of employees are of the highest standard, maintained through continual professional development